Goodreads

What’s In A Name?: Tales from the Lost Horizon

By Michael Eging

5 Stars

Michael Eging has written a gem – or should I say treasure? — of a story filled with adventure and fantasy not unlike tales of yore from some of the greats.

A hearty band of elves led by Vondrall must confront the dangers lurking in the bowels of Thunderer Mountain to fulfill their king’s ill-advised promise to bring back a treasured gift. To achieve their quest, they must defeat the dragon whose only vulnerability lies in its name and stave off greedy rivals from the human realm. Can Vondrall and his band claim the dragon’s treasure and live to tell about it? The answer to this secret lies in the pages of Eging’s epic short story.

I very much enjoyed this short read. The story is rich in imagery and has a fair bit of humor. It’s a legend that would fit in well into his forthcoming “Song of Roland” fantasy series. It kindled my interest in reading more from the Lost Horizon and tales of Thunderer. I give this story five stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy.

Rojak: Stories from the Singapore Writers’ Group

by Alice Clark-Platts & Others

5 Stars

Having recently arrived in Singapore and looking to read some of the best local writing, I was rewarded when I read this gem of a short story anthology. The Malay word for “mixture,” Rojak is an apt title for this collection of short, easy-to-read stories that take the reader around the world and leaves them with exotic tastes to savor and provoking thoughts to ponder. It is indeed the “perfect mix of short stories for the adventurous and the armchair traveler” with tales from Singapore to Mexico, England, South Africa, and elsewhere. There’s something for everyone in this book.

The anthology is well written and edited. Some stories are concise with clear endings while others end leaving the reader craving more. All pack a strong punch, filled with emotion and depth in mere pages. Many could serve as the basis of full-length novels. Although written by 19 authors with diverse writing styles and interests, the book features a coherent narrative and themes guided by the deft hand of Singapore Writers’ Group founder Alice Clark-Platts, who brought an eclectic “mixture” of members together to write this anthology.

I’m looking forward to reading more short stories from the Singapore Writers’ Group and follow-on works by the book’s contributors. Read this book for a taste of what this talented group has to offer, and if you are in Singapore, get to know the SWG. It has a bright future on the Singapore literary scene.

I give Rojak five (5) stars and recommend it to anyone interested in Singapore, travel stories, or well-written short stories.

Enemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner

5 Stars

“Enemies” is a colorful tale of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from its humble beginnings in 1908 fighting organized crime to its recent involvement in the War on Terror. Based on a wealth of research, declassified documents and interviews, the book devotes many of its pages to the larger-than-life character of its first director, J. Edgar Hoover, who for half a century personified the FBI and left an indelible stamp on the agency housed in the Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.

I was compelled to read this book after watching a biopic on Hoover in order to get a fuller picture of the legendary man. The book offers an in-depth, no-holds-barred look at the Bureau and its leadership from Hoover to its most recent director, James B. Comey. Effusive in his praise and sharp in his criticism, the author paints a picture of a government agency torn between balancing its mission to provide security and fight criminal and terrorist activity and the need to protect civil liberties so that “Americans could be both safe and free.” Its first century has been one of successes, failures, and a constant struggle to find or upset this balance. The author draws from a wealth of documentary evidence to portray a Bureau that in many ways operates like a tragicomedy as it tries to make sense of and respond to ever-changing threats, often in heavy-handed and arguably unconstitutional ways. Weiner does an apt job of bringing the FBI to life.

Although the author makes no attempt to tell an impartial story, his interpretation of history makes it all the more interesting. Putting the FBI through the lens of constitutionality and civil rights, he chides the Bureau for its many deficiencies but commends it where it has taken strides to improve, such as discontinuing (at least publicly) warrantless searches and seizures and improving its information systems. He leaves the reader with the impression that the organization has moved away from many mistakes of the past and has a promising future as the U.S. Government’s primary law enforcement agency.

The book’s Achilles heel is its over-reliance on archival information. Much of it is devoted to the Hoover years, while events after his death seem glossed over. Depictions of evolution of the FBI during the War on Terror seem rushed. The author felt it necessary to tell the Bureau’s full history, but his lack of source material and apparent lack of access in the post-Hoover period is evident. It might have been better to focus on the agency’s first 50 years and save the last half century for another book.

I give this book five (5) stars and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the FBI, federal law enforcement, and civil liberties.